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Cyber lab turns to cryptology experts for help

Wednesday - 8/15/2012, 8:51am EDT

The mysterious Gauss cyber-surveillance malware has experts stumped. Kaspersky Lab, a Moscow-based security vendor, has been dissecting Gauss. But the company, in a blog, appealed to cryptology experts to help it unlock Gauss' deepest secrets.

ComputerWorld reports, Kaspersky figured out Gauss is spread using USB memory sticks. But much of the code is encrypted using a key called RC4.

Gauss is suspected of being related to Stuxnet, the 2010 virus that helped wreck Iranian nuclear centrifuges. The federal government was later found to have had a hand in developing Stuxnet. Gauss spies on financial activity at banks in the Middle East.

This story is part of Federal News Radio's daily Cybersecurity Update. For more cybersecurity news, click here.